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From Charity Nwakaudu, Abuja
A strong call for the political and economic emancipation of Ijaw women echoed through Abuja on Friday.
This came as former Presidential Adviser on Niger Delta Affairs, Dr. Kingsley Kuku; an activist Annkio Briggs; and founder of Ijaw Women Connect (IWC) Worldwide, Rosemary John-Oduone, urged women to take charge of leadership and demand their rightful place in governance.
Speaking through Lawrence Pepple at the maiden IWC Worldwide Global Leadership Conference, Kuku said the COVID-19 pandemic showed that women lead better in times of crisis because they combine transparency, empathy, and science-based decision-making.
He lamented that patriarchy, political violence, and financial barriers continue to keep women out of power, insisting that Nigeria’s mounting economic, environmental, and security challenges require inclusive leadership.
Kuku urged IWC to groom female politicians, establish a campaign fund, promote literacy and digital skills in riverine communities, create women-focused economic empowerment schemes, and push for the full implementation of the 35 per cent affirmative action for women.
“When you strengthen the Ijaw woman, you stabilise the Niger Delta. And when you stabilise the Niger Delta, you propel Nigeria toward its destiny,” he said.
In his address, Niger Delta activist Annkio Briggs, declared that Ijaw women would no longer accept exclusion from governance or resource management.
She demanded economic and educational sovereignty for women, urged oil firms to establish digital skills trust funds for Ijaw girls, and called for cooperative funds and affordable credit for women entrepreneurs.
Briggs also insisted that no community development agreement, pipeline surveillance contract, or oil exploration licence should be approved without the endorsement of women from host communities.
“We are the ones, who bear the burden of environmental degradation. We must have a say in how our resources are managed,” she declared.
She further called for legal protection for women environmental defenders, an end to discriminatory inheritance practices, equal voting rights for female traditional rulers, and the teaching of Ijaw women’s history in schools.
Earlier, founder and pioneer president of IWC Worldwide, Rosemary John-Oduone, described the conference as the birth of a movement committed to uniting, educating, and empowering Ijaw women.
“We have struggled for too long. We do not want to struggle anymore. Let this conference empower us to take our rightful place,” she said.
